Many believe that successful Chinese internet firms benefit from a lot of eyeballs and traffic, but still lack a substantial monetization model. A panel at the China 2.0 conference held by Stanford Graduate School of Business on October 3, 2013 challenged this preconception and offered insights into the globalization of Chinese internet and digital companies, the development of China’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, and the shift to mobile and its implications.The “VC Outlook on Internet and Digital Media” panel brought together Jenny Lee of GGV Capital, Annabelle Long of Bertelsmann Asia Investments, and Raymond Yang of WestSummit Capital in a discussion moderated by David Chao of DCM.

Bay-jing, a combination of “Beijing” and “Bay Area,” references the increasing interaction between the two sides of the Pacific, and encapsulates the current dynamic of globalization affecting Chinese internet companies. Tencent’s Weixin was renamed WeChat and features soccer star Lionel Messi in its ads for international markets, which counted more than 100 million users outside China in August 2013.

Bay-jing, according to Yang, does not only refer to more users for Chinese companies in the U.S. and globally. It also alludes to the flow of ideas and investments between China and Silicon Valley. Alibaba recently announced its intention to set up an office in San Francisco for investing in American companies while leading a $206 million investment round in ShopRunner, an American online shopping website. Read more...